The team in charge of Bute House care home in Cumnock say they are pleased with the progress made at the facility since they took charge.
Pauline Hunter took over as manager at the beginning of June, with Megan Nohar becoming the Deputy Manager just a few weeks prior.
Since taking over, the home has been subject to a handful of Care Inspectorate reports which have highlighted some areas for improvement at the facility.
However, the improvements were something that both Pauline and Megan knew had to be faced head-on, but admitted it wouldn't be a straightforward journey.
Pauline said: “One person came in the first time and we’d had a complaint from a family member which was the reason for the second person coming in to deal with the outcome.
“Part of the original report was about learning about how we handle certain situations for us.
“I’m happy with how things are going. There’s a lot of work been done and there's a lot of work needing done with the foundation of the place and things like that, but we’re definitely getting there."
When taking over, Pauline and Megan said they wanted to make sure they could create their own environment within Bute House that the residents could feel comfortable in.
“When we took over some of the residents were a wee bit apprehensive," Pauline said.
"But it’s about building trust and a relationship with them and they’re all loving it now and they’ll come and see us and have a laugh and a joke and we’re creating a good atmosphere.
“We want to make sure the residents feel like they’ve got their own independence while having the care they need at the same time.
“We’ve done a lot of work already with ripping up old carpets and laying new floors and revamping some of the rooms.
“It felt like we basically slept in the place for the first week and were doing 11 and 12 hour shifts every day to get it to somewhere close to where we want it."
Megan added: “The communal areas are all fit for purpose and the residents love sitting in them and enjoying their days together.
“Before we came in, all the other staff were left without structure, so we’ve worked on building that back up, because it’s a big team that makes this place run successfully and we're making progress with that.”
When the first of the Care Inspectorate's reports were published, the home entered voluntary moratorium, meaning they weren't taking on any more residents until they got the home the way they wanted it.
Pauline added that it was an important step for them in being able to iron out some of the issues they had stepped into.
She added: “With the voluntary moratorium we can do that ourselves. It looks better for us to do that ourselves and get ahead of these things, than waiting for us to be told to do it and making it look as if we’ve been shut down.
“That’s all been sorted and lifted now and we’re taking admissions and we’re taking respite in.
"Respite is for some people who live at home and if their family need a wee break or if they’re getting something done in their house then they can come into us for a week.
“We’ve done up a wee lounge area as well with a kitchen and sitting area where the resident’s family can come and they can sit and spend some time together.
“We’ve got plans to improve a lot more, but we’re taking it one step at a time.”
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